Officiating (Sports)

News about Sports Officiating, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 5, 2015

WNBA officials have made several possible game-altering mistakes already this season, one that even drew a fine. MORE

May. 29, 2015

Christopher Clarey On Tennis column notes that while Rafael Nadal's request after first round of French Open that chair umpire Carlos Bernardes not be assigned to any of his matches was surprising to many, it is not without precedent. MORE

May. 4, 2015

Apr. 1, 2015

College basketball players are limited in their uniform choices by longstanding NCAA rule barring use of numerals 6,7,8 and 9; regulation is meant to simplify signals used by officials to communicate with scorer's table. MORE

Mar. 26, 2015

Many observers, as well as competitors, say questionable officiating has affected outcomes of several games in opening rounds of NCAA men's basketball tournament. MORE

Mar. 20, 2015

NCAA will for first time use Precision Time System throughout basketball tournament; system uses Fox 40, louder and more reliable whistle invented by former referee Ron Foxcraft, to trigger device that stops game clock instantly rather than relying on sideline clock operator. MORE

Mar. 15, 2015

Essay by Jennifer Eggers looks back at the career of her father Michael Eggers, NCAA Division I men's basketball official for 41 years; says her father never took officiating lightly, even as game evolved over that time. MORE

Jan. 12, 2015

Ruling on catch by Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant in final minutes of playoff game is reversed after challenge by Green Bay Packers' coach Mike McCarthy; call, which leads to narrow victory by Packers, is made based on close reading of process rules. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

Dean Blandino, vice president for officiating for NFL, says Dallas Cowboys should have been penalized at a key point in fourth quarter of their victory over Detroit Lions; says pass interference should have been called on a Lions third-down play; officials did throw flag but after conferring decided there would be no penalty. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

Oklahoma Judge Bernard M Jones II says he will issue ruling on whether part or all of disputed football playoff game between Locust Grove High School and Frederick A Douglass High should be replayed because of blown call affecting game's outcome. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

Class 3A football playoffs for Oklahoma's midsize schools are being delayed until district judge upholds or invalidates Locust Grove's disputed quarterfinal victory Nov 28 over Frederick A Douglass High School of Oklahoma City; Douglass wants game partly or entirely replayed because of critical, admitted error made by referees in negating late touchdown. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Veteran MLB umpire Dale Scott reveals that he is gay in article in Outsports.com, becoming first publicly gay active major-league umpire. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

French chair umpire Morgan Lamri becomes first official to be suspended for gambling-related corruption by the Tennis Integrity Unit; receives lifetime ban. MORE

Nov. 2, 2014

NHL is cracking down on what it sees as rampant fakery among players taking theatrical falls on the ice in order to influence a referee; NHL Rule 64 calls for two-minute penalty against any player who blatantly dives to ice or embellishes a fall or reaction, and referees are being directed to be stricter about penalizing such violations. MORE

Oct. 24, 2014

The Upshot; Major League baseball's strike zone is bigger than it used to be, especially around batters’ knees, due to league’s growing use of video technology to evaluate umpires, who are sticking more closely to the official strike zone; rule book defines strike zone as going to just below kneecap, and that enlarged zone is a major reason strikeouts have risen and scoring has dropped sharply. MORE

Oct. 24, 2014

Major League Soccer referee Jose Carlos Rivero is suspended after being arrested on felony charges for claiming more than $14,000 in unemployment benefits while he was employed. MORE

Oct. 21, 2014

Baseball is experimenting with new rules aimed at speeding up the game, including use of a pitching clock to limit time between pitches. MORE

Sep. 10, 2014

MLB urges umpires to apply common sense to new rule on home plate collisions that has confounded players and fans; calls based on strict interpretation of rule have often overturned plays in which runner would clearly have been out. MORE

Aug. 25, 2014

United States Open preview notes that veteran line umpires at the tournament avoid blocked views by studying players' patterns. MORE

Aug. 20, 2014

NBA referee Dick Bavetta announces his retirement after 39 years, working 2,635 regular-season games, and 270 playoff contests, never missing an assignment. MORE

Jul. 31, 2014

Referees in England’s Premier League will start using a vanishing spray, water-based, shaving-cream-like foam, to prevent encroachment by soccer players in a defensive wall during free kicks. MORE

Jul. 8, 2014

Researchers at Northwestern University conclude, after examining photographic evidence, that Major League Baseball umpires make more errors in favor of All-Star pitchers than pitchers who have never been selected for an All-Star Game; findings suggest that officials might be just as star-struck as the average fan. MORE

Jul. 6, 2014

Sam Borden On Soccer column holds that the referee's failure to control World Cup soccer match between Brazil and Colombia led to serious injury of Brazil's star striker Neymar; notes that 54 fouls were committed in the game. MORE

Jul. 1, 2014

Jere Longman On Soccer column; United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann expresses unease about the French-speaking referee scheduled to officiate Round of 16 match with Belgium. MORE

Jun. 29, 2014

John Branch On Tennis column considers John McEnroe's contention that line judges in tennis are obsolete because of technology that is already used to challenge and correct missed calls. MORE

Jun. 24, 2014

Vagaries of time are the norm in soccer; with stoppage time rule, games do not end when a clock expires, but only when the referee decides they are over; latest example came in World Cup game when United States took lead in 81st minute of 90-minute match, only to see the advantage slip away when Portugal scored 14 minutes later. MORE

Jun. 21, 2014

World Cup Roundup; FIFA drops linesman Humberto Clavijo of Colombia from his crew's next assignment at the World Cup after he made offside decisions that denied Mexico two potential goals in team’s opening game against Cameroon; other soccer news noted. MORE

Jun. 10, 2014

Company GoalControl is installing system of cameras and software that will try to ensure, for the first time at a World Cup, that every goal scored has actually crossed the line, and that no ball near the line is incorrectly declared a goal if it has not. MORE

Jun. 8, 2014

Placing judges at Belmont Park find that determining official race results is delicate dance; when horses reach finish line of 146th running of Belmont Stakes, three judges write down the order of finish as best as they can tell by the naked eye; there is no question that Tonalist crossed first followed by Commissioner and Medal count. MORE

Jun. 1, 2014

Investigative report by FIFA, soccer world's governing body, raises serious questions about vulnerability of World Cup to match fixing; report, which has yet to be released, found that match-rigging syndicate and its referees infiltrated upper reaches of global soccer in order to fix exhibition matches and exploit them for betting purposes (Series: Rigged). MORE

May. 18, 2014

Profile of Dan Merzel, who is working toward his goal to become an umpire in Major League Baseball; Merzel is scheduled to umpire 142 minor league games in a 152-day stretch and be paid $3,000 a month; says it is worth it, even though as a Johns Hopkins graduate with a sought-after degree, he would seem to have more lucrative options. MORE

May. 16, 2014

Incidents in Brooklyn Nets-Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers-Oklahoma City Thunder playoff games are the latest to call attention to what officials are allowed to review; are likely to prompt changes in the replay system; NBA fines Clippers coach Doc Rivers over his diatribe after officials did not overturn pivotal call in his team's playoff loss. MORE

May. 4, 2014

Baseball's so-called neighborhood play, unwritten rule that allows middle infielders not to touch second base for the forceout on a double play, is exempt from expanded video review because of safety concerns; like pitchers' use of pine tar in cold weather for a better grip on the ball, the neighborhood play is allowed as long as it is not too obvious. MORE

Apr. 22, 2014

New York Rangers are 3 for 12 on power plays in their playoff series with Philadelphia Flyers, but two offsetting diving penalties in Game 2 cost them, and players question whether calls were fair. MORE

Apr. 18, 2014

Court of Arbitration for Sport exonerates six officials who were implicated in a judging scandal, annulling a decision by the governing body for rhythmic gymnastics; cheating was said to have occurred in 2012 in testing rooms across Europe, where judges were seeking to qualify to officiate at elite competitions like 2016 Summer Olympics. MORE

Apr. 6, 2014

Extra Bases column; of the first 20 calls reviewed on baseball's video replay, 12 held up, and a spent appeal proved costly in a close game; Major League Baseball has been transparent about the system, showing disputed plays on stadium video boards and on a Twitter account; replay setup is more about strategy than it is about achieving perfection. MORE

Apr. 1, 2014

Major League Baseball's inaugural regular-season use of the new replay review system draws no complaints in opening day games. MORE

Mar. 30, 2014

Gray Matter column by professors of management Brayden King and Jerry Kim contests Major League Baseball's decision to leave calling of strike zone completely to official discretion, and not subject to instant replay review; contends that calling strike zone may be officiating decision most subject to human error or bias; questions whether fans want to see completely fair game, or game that mimics flaws of real world. MORE

Mar. 27, 2014

Major League Baseball offers demonstration of its new instant replay review system, which links camera feeds from 30 ballparks to replay operations center at MLB Advanced Media in Manhattan; in demonstration, two MLB officials play the roles of an umpire at the operations center and an umpire calling in from Arizona to report a manager’s challenge to a play. MORE

Mar. 21, 2014

Professional Soccer Referees Association ratifies a new collective bargaining agreement, ending a lockout that had led the league to use replacement referees and assistant referees for the first two weeks of the season. MORE

Mar. 18, 2014

Sports officiating provides an agreeable part-time job to many, and it can be possible to turn job into full-time living; still, landing one of more than 300 coveted and lucrative positions in big-league sports remains difficult prospect; officiating camps and professional schools offer aspiring officials a way in. MORE

Mar. 16, 2014

Soccer Roundup; disputed call from Alan Kelly, replacement official serving during Major League Soccer’s lockout of referees, allows Colorado Rapids a penalty kick in 1-1 tie against New York Red Bulls; other soccer news noted MORE

Mar. 8, 2014

Major League Soccer will open its 19th season with replacement referees as the Professional Referee Organization announces lock out over labor dispute; negotiations have become increasingly testy in recent months, and two sides remain far apart on salaries and fees for officials. MORE

Mar. 4, 2014

Baseball Roundup; MLB's era of expanded instant replay gets under way in 2014; other baseball items noted. MORE

Mar. 3, 2014

NCAA's rule change prohibiting hand-checking shifts emphasis in college basketball to more offensive skill rather than defensive muscle. MORE

Feb. 25, 2014

Major League Baseball and its players adopt rule limiting home plate collisions, rather than banning them outright; in what both sides say is a one-year experiment, rule allows collisions if the catcher has the ball and is blocking the runner’s direct path to home plate, or if the catcher goes into the basepath to field a throw to the plate. MORE

Feb. 6, 2014

Many in the competitive skating world, as well as independent experts, remain skeptical about sport's credibility, especially the objectivity of its judges; doubt remains 12 years after major overhaul of scoring and judging standards following scandal at the 2002 Olympic Games. MORE

Feb. 6, 2014

Recent additions to winter Olympic sports, like the halfpipe competition, are determined by panel of judges rather than clocks or measuring tape, leaving significant room for exploitation and debate. MORE

Jan. 24, 2014

Curling largely relies on athletes to police themselves and call their own fouls, even at the Olympics, with world recognition at stake; historically seen as a gentleman’s game, curlers are expected to call attention to their own errors; while some officials line curling arenas, they are chiefly relegated to timekeeping and measuring. MORE

Jan. 17, 2014

Tyler Kepner On Baseball column; Major League Baseball announces that its teams have unanimously approved the expanded use of replay for 2014, and that the players’ and umpires’ unions have also agreed; managers will be allowed to ask for one replay review per game on calls that are eligible to be overturned; umpires will have the discretion to initiate reviews from the seventh inning on. MORE

Pedro Chaluja, the president of Panama’s soccer federation, told reporters that the outcome of Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Mexico had been manipulated in retaliation for Panama’s not voting for Sepp Blatter in the recent FIFA presidential election.